"Smash" - an in-depth TV Review
Feb. 7th, 2012 06:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatSaw the new musical television workplace drama entitled Smash last night, which I keep calling the anti-Glee in my head - not that it is, but in some respects I prefer it to Glee (a little satire goes a long long way, just saying). In others? Glees musical acts are more interesting. But they are vastly different shows, with only the whole "musical" thing in common. Say what you will about Glee but it paved the way for shows like Smash - a venue for music to be performed in a believable manner without throwing the modern audience out of the story.
While I enjoyed Smash, I do have quibbles...based on both the pilot and the preview for what to expect from the series this season. But first the good stuff or what I liked about it. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly so to speak...although there isn't really much ugly, since it is a workplace drama that for a change of pace has no violence, and no crimes. In short one that actually doesn't deal with cops, doctors, lawyers or forensic scientists. Shocking! Isn't it? And we thought no one in Hollywood had any new ideas. I give Spielberg credit for coming up with a workplace drama about the lives of people putting on a Broadway musical. That's actually more interesting to me than the case of the week. So kudos. Plus, different! And no violence! And female centric with powerful women leads. (I've watched too many violent male centric tv series...and I work in a male dominant workplace, so this makes me happy.)
And...the series is written by a woman. The four central points of view are "female"
and it has four strong and very actresses in each role. Reminds me a little bit of the Good Wife...in that the story seems to be about gender politics or the struggle women have making it in a male ruled world. It's preachier than Good Wife, but I should leave that comment for the bad section? Eh, forget that, this journal is called Spontaneous Musings after all...and I'm don't have the patience to be that organized. The metaphors here are a tad obvious. The Broadway show they are performing is based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Which I was admittedly skeptical of...because the metaphor is a bit obvious.
Yes, Marilyn Monroe is an icon of the abused/objectified woman, she's not really a feminist icon so much as a symbol of what it is like to be a female in this world. What it is like to be ruled and dominated by men, or employed by men - particularly in the entertainment industry (true of the publishing industry too for that matter). Marilyn wanted to be a good actress. She wanted to stretch herself. She wanted to be Merly Streep or Carol Lombard or Elizabeth Taylor. She did not want to be a pin-up model in every little boy's locker-room or bedroom or bathroom for the old wank the monkey routine. (Seriously? What woman does?) But...she couldn't get ahead any other way. They wouldn't let her. And they objectified the hell out of her. Laurence Oliver famously directed Marilyn in Prince and the Showgirl with the view that he would seduce her and have an affair with her. He'd hired her instead of his wife, Vivian Leigh, who had been in the stage version of the film, because he wanted "Marilyn Monroe". But Marilyn didn't want to play Marilyn Monroe - she wanted to act. The recent flick My Week with Marilyn underlines these themes. That film like most films shows Marilyn through a male lense, we see the male lust after her, want her,
desire her, and obsess over her - her power over him is primarily sexual and it made her miserable. She hated herself. I've always considered Marilyn Monroe to be a tragic figure.
To be fair, Smash does comment on this. Not only does it comment on it - it sort of hammers you over the head with it. Giving in to a few cliches. Such as the director who invites the naive and inexperienced starlet to his home after-hours to "audition" and "work on her routine" specifically "her sex appeal". That scene is saved by the actors. But it grated. I've seen it done in every film or tv show about the entertainment biz. Black Swan did it. So did Chorus Line (a movie I do love). As did the film FAME. That said, Katherine McPhee's performance of Happy Birthday Mr. President, then her slap down of the "ass-hole" Director - "Never going to happen!"
Was well-played. And the asshole director is being played by an actor I've seen before and rather like.
Backing up a bit...in case you haven't seen it. The series is about putting on the musical Marilyn Monroe. The main conflict at the start is choosing Marilyn. Although there are other issues at play. And the conflict over the choice of star is a power-play. There are two women vying for the part. One is Broadway vet Ivy, who dreams of finally getting out of the Chorus Line. She's actually shaped more like Marilyn - voluptuous, and does not have a boyfriend. The actress playing the part is also a Broadway vet - Megan Hilty.
The other is American Idol runner-up Katherine McPhee - you remember? She lost to Taylor Hicks? The fun thing about American Idol? With the possible exception of Carrie Underwood, all the runner-ups do better than the winners. I've always considered that to be hilarious. She's playing Karen, an actress who has yet to land any role on Broadway. Her boyfriend (who is one of two minority characters in the series), is her sole support. Her parents think she's crazy. [And I'm not positive but I think her dad may have been played by William H. Macy, certainly looked like him.] But her boyfriend is gung-ho. Which sets up an interesting conflict, since the director of the show has the hots for her. McPhee has an amazing voice. But her character is currently a bit too...niave ingenue. That said, she did blow at least three bits out of the park.
Then we have Debra Messing's character whose name I forget. This character is the least developed and least interesting at the moment. But does wear nice outfits. So nice that I kept wondering if her hubby was insane when he insisted she change for the social worker coming to discuss the adoption. What did he want her to wear? A suite? Messing's character is struggling with the balance between family and career much like Alicia Florek in the Good Wife. She and her husband want to adopt another child, they already have a teenage son. I'm not sure why they want to adopt or if the son is adopted. The point is made that when she does a show - her family never sees her. Balancing family and career in the entertainment biz, when your family isn't in the biz is close to impossible. It's actually impossible in either event. The entertainment biz will eat you alive if you let it. It's not a 9-5 gig, it's a 24/7 gig until the show is over or the film is over or the tv series has finished filming.
That's why they are paid as much money as they are.
Debra's writing partner is single gay lyricist/composer Tom (she does the book, he does the songs). And the songs are good. Much better than Glee's attempts at song-writing. The writing team for the songs is the same team that did the songs for Hairspray. According to NY1's Theater Scene - there's an indication that SMASH's Marilyn may actually end up on Broadway, which means, if true, that there is a weird fourth wall component to this enterprize. (I don't know if its true or I misheard it.)
They have three songs - Wise Men Say, Ballgame, and Moving On. All of which have a kick to them. I rather liked the first one. Ballgame had a great dance number - where we see the evolution of it - from the choreaography to the rehearsal to the actual number on stage. I appreciated that. (In a former life, I did a musical in college and took dance lessons. I suck at dance. I know because I kept trying not to suck at it. No rhythm. Also suck at playing piano - could never get the pedal and the keys to work at the same time. Guitar? Ditto. Singing...I'm considering taking voice lessons, although choir in school and trying to sing in college and law school should probably discourage that. Hey, I don't take my lack of talent at things at face value. I sucked at writing too to start with. In any event, I find the process of putting together a musical fascinating - so have watched a lot of documentaries on the topic, not to mention did a lot of theater in elementary - college, so far SMASH is fairly on target.) I'm actually more interested in Tom than Debra Messing's character, but we are in her pov, not his. Also interested in his assistant - who she wants to get rid of, but he's enamored of. I see an All About Eve tale coming - except from a male pov, in which case? Cool!
The best and least cliche ridden female character, and possibly the most powerful, is Angelica Huston's producer. I love Angelica Huston. Haven't seen her in a while. She's a big-boned, tall, tough lady, who looks like her dad. Her character is fascinating - she's a producer in the midst of a messy Broadway divorce. The My Fair Lady revival is in escrow as a result. She manipulates Messing and Tom into hiring the asshole director who is phenomenal, asshole directors always are - that's why they can be assholes. (Michael Douglas played the one in A Chorus Line - one of my favorite musicals, the film had problems...but I still loved it. Hey, Chicago has issues, and I own it. Hairspray does, and I own it. So does West Side Story. Enuf said). Watch SMASH for Huston. You can thank me, later. Or not as the case may be.
When asked why she decided to join SMASH, Huston stated that what she liked about it was it was a workplace drama about Broadway and didn't have any cops, doctors or lawyers in it. Sigh. True. Well outside of the divorce attorneys - but they had no lines.
As you've probably figured out? SMASH is a mixed bag, but then all American television series are. [I deleted my sermon on how American TV shows are flawed, aren't you happy? Trust me, you didn't want to read it.]
There's a lot of potential here. We have some interesting characters. The core of the show is a good one - female empowerment, gender power dynamics, commentary on how women are viewed in society specifically through the entertainment biz's viel, and
what is involved in putting on a Broadway show. What you give up to do it. How hard it is. What conflicts arise. It's clunky in places, but those edges may get smoothed out over time, The Wire's and Buffy's were. So was Farscape's. So I'm giving it chance. And I liked it better than expected. Plus it's different and it falls within the type of television series that I like - workplace serial dramas. I love workplace serial dramas that do not involve murder or cops. I've burned out completely on cop shows, I can't watch them any more. I fall asleep.
Rating? B
While I enjoyed Smash, I do have quibbles...based on both the pilot and the preview for what to expect from the series this season. But first the good stuff or what I liked about it. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly so to speak...although there isn't really much ugly, since it is a workplace drama that for a change of pace has no violence, and no crimes. In short one that actually doesn't deal with cops, doctors, lawyers or forensic scientists. Shocking! Isn't it? And we thought no one in Hollywood had any new ideas. I give Spielberg credit for coming up with a workplace drama about the lives of people putting on a Broadway musical. That's actually more interesting to me than the case of the week. So kudos. Plus, different! And no violence! And female centric with powerful women leads. (I've watched too many violent male centric tv series...and I work in a male dominant workplace, so this makes me happy.)
And...the series is written by a woman. The four central points of view are "female"
and it has four strong and very actresses in each role. Reminds me a little bit of the Good Wife...in that the story seems to be about gender politics or the struggle women have making it in a male ruled world. It's preachier than Good Wife, but I should leave that comment for the bad section? Eh, forget that, this journal is called Spontaneous Musings after all...and I'm don't have the patience to be that organized. The metaphors here are a tad obvious. The Broadway show they are performing is based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Which I was admittedly skeptical of...because the metaphor is a bit obvious.
Yes, Marilyn Monroe is an icon of the abused/objectified woman, she's not really a feminist icon so much as a symbol of what it is like to be a female in this world. What it is like to be ruled and dominated by men, or employed by men - particularly in the entertainment industry (true of the publishing industry too for that matter). Marilyn wanted to be a good actress. She wanted to stretch herself. She wanted to be Merly Streep or Carol Lombard or Elizabeth Taylor. She did not want to be a pin-up model in every little boy's locker-room or bedroom or bathroom for the old wank the monkey routine. (Seriously? What woman does?) But...she couldn't get ahead any other way. They wouldn't let her. And they objectified the hell out of her. Laurence Oliver famously directed Marilyn in Prince and the Showgirl with the view that he would seduce her and have an affair with her. He'd hired her instead of his wife, Vivian Leigh, who had been in the stage version of the film, because he wanted "Marilyn Monroe". But Marilyn didn't want to play Marilyn Monroe - she wanted to act. The recent flick My Week with Marilyn underlines these themes. That film like most films shows Marilyn through a male lense, we see the male lust after her, want her,
desire her, and obsess over her - her power over him is primarily sexual and it made her miserable. She hated herself. I've always considered Marilyn Monroe to be a tragic figure.
To be fair, Smash does comment on this. Not only does it comment on it - it sort of hammers you over the head with it. Giving in to a few cliches. Such as the director who invites the naive and inexperienced starlet to his home after-hours to "audition" and "work on her routine" specifically "her sex appeal". That scene is saved by the actors. But it grated. I've seen it done in every film or tv show about the entertainment biz. Black Swan did it. So did Chorus Line (a movie I do love). As did the film FAME. That said, Katherine McPhee's performance of Happy Birthday Mr. President, then her slap down of the "ass-hole" Director - "Never going to happen!"
Was well-played. And the asshole director is being played by an actor I've seen before and rather like.
Backing up a bit...in case you haven't seen it. The series is about putting on the musical Marilyn Monroe. The main conflict at the start is choosing Marilyn. Although there are other issues at play. And the conflict over the choice of star is a power-play. There are two women vying for the part. One is Broadway vet Ivy, who dreams of finally getting out of the Chorus Line. She's actually shaped more like Marilyn - voluptuous, and does not have a boyfriend. The actress playing the part is also a Broadway vet - Megan Hilty.
At the age of 25, Hilty was starring on Broadway in the hit musical "Wicked," and in 2008 she joined the musical adaptation of the film, "9 to 5."
The other is American Idol runner-up Katherine McPhee - you remember? She lost to Taylor Hicks? The fun thing about American Idol? With the possible exception of Carrie Underwood, all the runner-ups do better than the winners. I've always considered that to be hilarious. She's playing Karen, an actress who has yet to land any role on Broadway. Her boyfriend (who is one of two minority characters in the series), is her sole support. Her parents think she's crazy. [And I'm not positive but I think her dad may have been played by William H. Macy, certainly looked like him.] But her boyfriend is gung-ho. Which sets up an interesting conflict, since the director of the show has the hots for her. McPhee has an amazing voice. But her character is currently a bit too...niave ingenue. That said, she did blow at least three bits out of the park.
Then we have Debra Messing's character whose name I forget. This character is the least developed and least interesting at the moment. But does wear nice outfits. So nice that I kept wondering if her hubby was insane when he insisted she change for the social worker coming to discuss the adoption. What did he want her to wear? A suite? Messing's character is struggling with the balance between family and career much like Alicia Florek in the Good Wife. She and her husband want to adopt another child, they already have a teenage son. I'm not sure why they want to adopt or if the son is adopted. The point is made that when she does a show - her family never sees her. Balancing family and career in the entertainment biz, when your family isn't in the biz is close to impossible. It's actually impossible in either event. The entertainment biz will eat you alive if you let it. It's not a 9-5 gig, it's a 24/7 gig until the show is over or the film is over or the tv series has finished filming.
That's why they are paid as much money as they are.
Debra's writing partner is single gay lyricist/composer Tom (she does the book, he does the songs). And the songs are good. Much better than Glee's attempts at song-writing. The writing team for the songs is the same team that did the songs for Hairspray. According to NY1's Theater Scene - there's an indication that SMASH's Marilyn may actually end up on Broadway, which means, if true, that there is a weird fourth wall component to this enterprize. (I don't know if its true or I misheard it.)
They have three songs - Wise Men Say, Ballgame, and Moving On. All of which have a kick to them. I rather liked the first one. Ballgame had a great dance number - where we see the evolution of it - from the choreaography to the rehearsal to the actual number on stage. I appreciated that. (In a former life, I did a musical in college and took dance lessons. I suck at dance. I know because I kept trying not to suck at it. No rhythm. Also suck at playing piano - could never get the pedal and the keys to work at the same time. Guitar? Ditto. Singing...I'm considering taking voice lessons, although choir in school and trying to sing in college and law school should probably discourage that. Hey, I don't take my lack of talent at things at face value. I sucked at writing too to start with. In any event, I find the process of putting together a musical fascinating - so have watched a lot of documentaries on the topic, not to mention did a lot of theater in elementary - college, so far SMASH is fairly on target.) I'm actually more interested in Tom than Debra Messing's character, but we are in her pov, not his. Also interested in his assistant - who she wants to get rid of, but he's enamored of. I see an All About Eve tale coming - except from a male pov, in which case? Cool!
The best and least cliche ridden female character, and possibly the most powerful, is Angelica Huston's producer. I love Angelica Huston. Haven't seen her in a while. She's a big-boned, tall, tough lady, who looks like her dad. Her character is fascinating - she's a producer in the midst of a messy Broadway divorce. The My Fair Lady revival is in escrow as a result. She manipulates Messing and Tom into hiring the asshole director who is phenomenal, asshole directors always are - that's why they can be assholes. (Michael Douglas played the one in A Chorus Line - one of my favorite musicals, the film had problems...but I still loved it. Hey, Chicago has issues, and I own it. Hairspray does, and I own it. So does West Side Story. Enuf said). Watch SMASH for Huston. You can thank me, later. Or not as the case may be.
When asked why she decided to join SMASH, Huston stated that what she liked about it was it was a workplace drama about Broadway and didn't have any cops, doctors or lawyers in it. Sigh. True. Well outside of the divorce attorneys - but they had no lines.
As you've probably figured out? SMASH is a mixed bag, but then all American television series are. [I deleted my sermon on how American TV shows are flawed, aren't you happy? Trust me, you didn't want to read it.]
There's a lot of potential here. We have some interesting characters. The core of the show is a good one - female empowerment, gender power dynamics, commentary on how women are viewed in society specifically through the entertainment biz's viel, and
what is involved in putting on a Broadway show. What you give up to do it. How hard it is. What conflicts arise. It's clunky in places, but those edges may get smoothed out over time, The Wire's and Buffy's were. So was Farscape's. So I'm giving it chance. And I liked it better than expected. Plus it's different and it falls within the type of television series that I like - workplace serial dramas. I love workplace serial dramas that do not involve murder or cops. I've burned out completely on cop shows, I can't watch them any more. I fall asleep.
Rating? B
no subject
Date: 2012-02-08 01:10 pm (UTC)Bones, Mentalist, the list goes on. It's also why I had to be coaxed into trying The Good Wife.
So, understand how it can be difficult to watch a series that is too close to what you know. Criminal procedural series drive me nuts they are so stupid.
SMASH is however produced by the people who wrote the Broadway musical Hairspray.